Alex Burrows has thrived on a line with the Sedin twins, and now he’s going to thrive financially, too—just as soon as he can get back to playing with the Vancouver Canucks.

Burrows, who scored 28 goals with 24 assists last season as the primary running mate of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, agreed to a four-year, $18 million contract extension on Friday, the eve of the NHL lockout.

NHL lockout: Alex Burrows gets plenty of opportunities in Vancouver solely by playing with the Sedin twins. (AP Photo)

A late bloomer by NHL standards, Burrows did not have more than 35 points in a season until 2008-09, when he was 27 years old. That year, the winger from Pincourt, Quebec, scored 28 goals with 23 assists and 150 penalty minutes. Since then, he has had seasons of 67 points, 48 and 52, all while playing a gritty game to keep teams honest against the Sedins.

Despite scoring at least 25 goals for each of the last four seasons, Burrows remains best known for an incident in Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, when he appeared to bite the finger of Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron. The NHL did not suspend Burrows, finding no evidence that the bite was intentional. Burrows said that Bergeron put a hand in his face, and the finger wound up in his mouth.

Burrows’ new deal takes effect with the 2013-14 season. He is entering the final campaign of a four-year, $8 million contract.

Considering that he has a more consistent track record for production while playing a similar role, Burrows’ deal is a bargain compared to the six-year, $28.5 million extension that Scott Hartnell signed with the Philadelphia Flyers last month—a deal in which Hartnell was said to be leaving money on the table to get the security of extra years. Hartnell is a year younger than Burrows, but has played 321 more games in the NHL, which would figure to wear on a player as he gets older.